I glare at him, and he huffs.
“Just come on and I’ll explain.”
He hikes through the thick brush with ease, and I peer around. V literally dropped us in the middle of a forest that isn’t at all familiar to me. I won’t be finding my way out of this.
I hop over a few fallen branches and put a death grip on Riven’s arm as soon as I catch up with him. I’m not giving the sneaky little shit the opportunity to leave me in this wild, untouched forest alone.
For a split second, I contemplate turning my ass right back around and running when he stops at the mouth of a cave. It’s so dark, my eyes can’t see past maybe three feet in.
He attempts to walk forward, but my feet stay firmly planted where they are. “I’m not going in there.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not like you’re afraid of the dark.” I fail to hide my crumbling face. He doesn’t make a comment. He slings his backpack off his back, unzips it, and pulls out a torch lamp.
“Did you take thatfrom Amick?”
“I have taken multiple from him, but not this particular one. It’s mine and stays in my handy-dandy backpack.” He passes it over to me but places his hand on top of mine when I go to flick it on. “Just wait a minute before you cut it on, okay? Trust me.”
I peer between his outstretched hand and his face. It’s void of teasing, and I don’t sense a prank on the horizon. As a matter of fact, I don’t sense his chaos at all anymore.
Even if he does have something up his sleeve, I’ll snap this light on faster than he can giggle.
My hand slides into his and my fingers squeeze the absolute shit out of him as we cross the threshold of the cave. The ragged breaths falling from my chest echo around us.
“Everything’s okay,” he murmurs, and his harmony wraps around me.
“Please tell me what we’re doing.”
“I want it to be a surprise.”
“It’s all still going to surprise me, Riven, but if you don’t want me to absolutely freak the fuck out, you’ve got to talk to me.”
His fingers twitch against mine and he tugs me closer.
“Fine. Amick asked me a few days ago to put my Plentiful Designation to good use and locate something for him. I haven’t been able to until I was lying in bed last night and thought about a little solo adventure I took when we first arrived here. I got lost in these fucking woods for three days but refused to starshoot back to the Godsdawn. Verlet finally found me sitting outside this very cave. I asked him if he remembered this location and if he did to share it with V so I could get here.”
“Gods, three days? What were you even doing out here?”
“Running away, little burden. Running far the fuck away.”
My chest clenches and I wish I could see his face right now. No matter how much my eyes have adjusted to the darkness, all I make out is his silhouette. Between his tone and the fact his unfavored power is obviously in control, I bet right now I’d get a good glimpse of what he’s feeling.
I go to speak, but all that leaves my mouth is a gasp as he blindly leads us around what I assume is a corner.
Dazzling sparkles light up the cave ground and walls as far as my eyes can now see.
Massive crystals protrude from different angles in all shapes and colors. Small ones are scattered about like stars lighting up the pitch-black night sky.
My fingers uncoil from Riven’s, and I reach across him to run my hand down the rough, jagged wall. The vibrations from the energy in these crystals travel through me and I release a shuddering breath.
“Riven, this is a crystal cave.”
“That it is. Smart muffin.”
“How? I thought they all had been discovered and mined over time?”
“Most but not all. There’re still a few places in Godsden that’ve been untouched for the most part.”
“For the most part…Amick asked you to find a crystal.”
